Advantages of Gibraltar as a Finance Centre
The Rock of Gibraltar has an area of two and a quarter square miles and is connected by a narrow isthmus to the southern coast of Spain. It has a population of approximately 30,000, of which 20,000 are Gibraltarian. The people are mainly of Italian, Genoese and Maltese descent, and are bilingual in English and Spanish. There is a small but significant Jewish population, a section of Indian traders and latterly a large influx of Moroccan workers. The official language is English and the official currency the pound Sterling, with both UK and Gibraltar coinage in circulation.
Gibraltar is a British Crown Colony and has been so since 1704. The Constitution gives legislative powers to the Governor, who is the Queen's representative, and the Gibraltar Parliament. It is a dependent territory, responsibility for which lies with the British Government. It enjoys considerable self-government, although the formal assent of the Governor is required for all legislation. The British Foreign Office is directly responsible for Gibraltar's foreign affairs, defence and security matters, whilst the Gibraltar Government and Members of Parliament, who are answerable to the Gibraltar Parliament, deal with domestic matters.
The British Government has given an assurance to the people of Gibraltar in the preamble to the Gibraltar Constitution, that Gibraltar will remain part of Her Majesty's dominions until and unless an Act of Parliament otherwise provides, and that Her Majesty's Government will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes.
The people of Gibraltar go to the polls at least every four years to elect their Parliament, where the majority party forms the Government. Each eligible Gibraltarian has ten votes for a House of 17 elected members. The full opening of the frontier with Spain in February 1985 has led to an increase in tourism and investment, and with the re-election to government of the GSLP/Liberal Party coalition, there has been a renewed commitment to the expansion of the economy in many areas, particularly in the promotion of Gibraltar as a Financial Centre.
Gibraltar has its own legal system, similar to that of the United Kingdom and based on English Common Law but with its own Constitution and statutes, termed Acts, which are passed by the Gibraltar Parliament.
Gibraltar became an associate member of the EEC when the UK joined in 1973 and is included for all matters except Value Added Tax, the Customs Union and the Common Agricultural Policy. It is ideally situated geographically for international trading activities, and offers the benefit of a bilingual professional community which often acts as a very effective bridge between Anglo-Saxon speaking countries and Spain, which is itself acquiring a much greater importance following its entry into the EEC.
Gibraltar is not party to any Double Taxation Agreements, but is currently in negotiations with establishing such an agreement with the UK.